The new contract is for the MQ-8C Fire Scout, which features increased range, endurance and payload capacity over the MQ-8B variant. Delivery of the first 14 Fire Scouts is scheduled to begin in 2014, and the Navy is planning to purchase a total of 30 unmanned helicopters, Northrop Grumman said.

“Along with our industry partners – Bell, Rolls-Royce, Cubic and others – we are making significant progress in reducing cost, enabling us to achieve our affordability targets and provide the Navy with the absolute best value,” said George Vardoulakis, vice president for tactical unmanned systems at Northrop Grumman. More